A Dismal Patagonian Day

by Lindsay Windler (United States of America)

I didn't expect to find Argentina

There we were, looking up at the foggy mountain side through the early morning drizzle. Come to think about it, that could be considered a bit of an understatement. It was more like the oncoming of a torrential downpour but collectively we were trying to hold on to any shred of positivity. We had finally made it; to the world famous El Chalten, Patagonia! Most of us strangers from half way around the world; all having different reasons to come together to hike in one of the most beautiful places on earth. As we started the initial ascent, of what we were told was our ‘easy’ hike of the trip; I was already chilly and a little damp. We arranged ourselves in a single file line following in the footsteps of our local guide. I’m no stranger to a brisk pace but our guide took off up the mountain like miniature army tanker, only slowing down to clean up any pieces of trash littering the trail. The weather worsened and the rainstorm was getting almost unbearable. Around two miles into our journey; more than half our group made the decision to turn around. They headed back to warm up around the cozy fireplace at our ecolodge, with a glass of local Malbec. The few of us remaining wearily looked at each other and made the decision to continue on. We were in Patagonia and determined to take in the sites; even if those sites were a little dismal on this particular day. I took off my gloves, wrung out all the rainwater and pressed on. Our group managed to slow at a few lookout points along the journey. We sadly squinted at the dense rainclouds blocking our beautiful Patagonian views. We hesitantly asked each other to take our photo in front of the point of interest sign, if only to prove that we were there. With most of the trails completely submerged by the compounding rainwater. We trudged on trying desperately to keep up with our guide while doing our best to stay on the path. We tested our physical abilities by leaping over huge bodies of water and hanging off the banks of the trail to avoid the deep mud. We learned from each other’s mistakes. Helping lead each other over and though all the obstacles we encountered on the trail. These challenges included a waterfall like field that was at least 100 yards wide. Our guide never broke stride and bulldozed through the foot-deep water like it wasn’t even there. The rest of us opted for a game of leap frog. We leapt from one small tuff of high grass to another all desperate to not submerge our boots and make the already discouraging situation even worse. We finally made it to our destination, the Laguna Torre! Without the tree cover we were left completely exposed. The wind and rain were so strong they stung our faces and cut through our gear like we were standing there naked. We sadly took a few lackluster photos and rushed back on to the trail. Finally, our guide found a spot in the forest that provided a little cover from the rainfall. We sat on a few downed trees and ate our damp ham and cheese sandwiches. Our lips were soon purple from our blood pressure dropping combined with the cold temperatures. I smiled to be strong for the group but in reality, I was holding back the tears. The return trip wasn’t as bad as because we knew what we were in for. We made small talk with our guide; who is an actual Sherpa during her day job. We make it back to the field of water and made less careful decisions knowing we were most of the way back. So, with soaking wet boots, completely chilled to the bone, our little group of newly bonded friends made our way back into town joking about our crazy experience. I went to Argentina to find myself what I didn’t expect was to find was an amazing group of lifelong friends!